When people mention anything to do with ‘Binge’ we automatically think of drink. In today’s society we are constantly under bombardment from advertisers to eat, eat and when we thought we have had enough - eat some more. Its no wonder that binge eating(also known as compulsive eating) is so common among men and women in there late teens and early 20s. This eating disorder often sees those affected eating in private and eating very large amounts and eating faster than normal, they will eat till completely full, they will eat even if they are not hungry.
Theses are only a few of the symptoms of this condition. Often used as a substitute when we feel sad, bored or under pressure, this condition has only been recently recognised as a separate medical condition. Binge eating shares some of its characteristics with bulimia, the main difference being that sufferers of bulimia purge by vomit or laxatives, whereas binge eaters just ‘binge’.
It is estimated that more people suffer form binge eating than anorexia and bulimia put together. There is no recognised cure for binge eating although counselling has helped to find out the core problem i.e. depression, stress or low self esteem.
With more and more people being recognised with this condition, there has to be more research into this disease. Binge eaters normally become overweight or clinically obese which in turn can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Binge eating can be described as the inability to control eating habits.
